Description
The dataset brings together all records of rotifers (Phylum Rotifera) found by N. Iakovenko and D. Lukashanets worldwide in limno-terrestrial habitats – substrates that periodically undergo cycles of desiccation and hydration but cannot be classified as temporary waterbodies – such as mosses, lichens, fungi, timber, upper layers of soil, and litter.
From 1996 to the present, we have collected and analysed more than 2,160 limno-terrestrial samples. Sampling covered all continents and over 50 countries, spanning from the Arctic to the Antarctic, including most of major biomes. The altitude of sampling sites ranged from 0 to 4,610 m above sea level. In total, the dataset includes 5,294 records of limno-terrestrial rotifers. We found 207 clonal species (including nominal ‘subspecies’ that in bdelloids are to be updated to species in future) belonging to 23 genera (9 of Monogononta and 14 of Bdelloidea). More than other 300 species-level entities were different in minor or major details from the original descriptions and potentially might be new taxa.
The submitted dataset is extensive and substantially contributes to the current knowledge of diversity and distribution of limno-terrestrial rotifers subject that is still poorly known, especially outside Europe. We present it for the wider use in studies of microinvertebrate biodiversity and macroecology.
Data Records
The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 5,294 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Lukashanets D, Iakovenko N, Fontaneto D, Devetter M, Janko K, Ejsmont-Karabin J, Bielańska-Grajner I, Hallet B, Smykla J, Kozeretska I, Trokhymets V (2025). New data on limno-terrestrial rotifers of the world. Version 1.4. Marine Research Institute, Klaipeda University. Occurrence dataset. https://cloud.gbif.org/eca/resource?r=limno-terrestrial_rotifera&v=1.4
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Marine Research Institute, Klaipeda University. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 0190c60e-e4fe-444d-b0f3-3be8368c2e0a. Marine Research Institute, Klaipeda University publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Participant Node Managers Committee.
Keywords
Bdelloidea; Rotifera; moss; lichen; soil
Contacts
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- Volodymyrska st 60
Geographic Coverage
The dataset includes records collected throughout the world, spanning latitudes from 77.94° S to 78.28° N and covering all continents: (i) Europe – Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia (Karelia and Caucasus), Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine; also including the European Arctic (Bear Island, Iceland, Jan Mayen, Svalbard) and Mediterranean islands (Mallorca, Malta, Pantelleria, Sardinia); (ii) Asia – Armenia, Brunei, China, Cyprus, Georgia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia (Southern Siberia), Taiwan, Tajikistan, Turkey; (iii) Africa – Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Tunisia; also including Macaronesia (Madeira); (iv) North America – western Greenland, USA (contiguous states and Alaska); also including the Caribbean (Martinique); (v) South America – Brazil, Chile; (vi) Australia and Oceania – Australia (mainland and Tasmania), New Zealand, Papua New Guinea; (vii) Antarctica – Antarctic Peninsula, Argentine Islands, Queen Maud Land, Enderby Land, James Ross Island, King George Island, Victoria Land.
Bounding Coordinates | South West [-90, -180], North East [90, 180] |
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Taxonomic Coverage
The dataset includes all records belonging to Phylum Rotifera, which we found in the samples of soil, moss, lichen and other limno-terrestrial habitats. Monogonont rotifers (order Ploima) accounted for only 1.47 % the records, whilst the majority of records were bdelloids (order Bdelloidea). Species with uncertain affiliation or potentially new for science were indicated as Genus sp., those different from the nominal description (mostly potentially new) are designated as cf.
Phylum | Rotifera (rotifers) |
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Temporal Coverage
Formation Period | 1996-2025 |
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Project Data
The project deals with the Latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG), which is one of the important biodiversity structural characteristics that in its initial concept refers to the quantitative changes (increase or decrease) of species richness from the poles to the equator. In most terrestrial macroorganisms LDG is characterized by higher diversities near the equator, while aquatic species tend to increase diversity toward the poles. However, for the microfauna, especially for so-called limno-terrestrial organisms (inhabitants of wet soil, moss and lichens), the presence and shape of LDG are still unclear. The main aim of the proposed project is to estimate the prominence and shape of global LDG in limno-terrestrial bdelloid rotifers (Bdelloidea; Rotifera). The general strategy of the project implies the employment of both conventional and metabarcoding techniques (extraction and sequencing of total DNA from the already collected frozen soil and moss samples) to estimate diversity metrics and compare them. Secondary, the project aims at inventarization of rotifer biodiversity in less studied studied regions, especially in Arctic and Antarctic. Two European Universities are involved in the project: Klaipeda University (KU) as lead applicant and Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) as co-applicant.
Title | ROTISFERA 'Global patterns of microinvertebrate distribution: does diversity decrease poleward in rotifers (Rotifera: Bdelloidea)?’ |
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Identifier | NDICI-GEO-NEAR/2022/434-092-0068 |
Funding | European Union |
Study Area Description | The project covers all regions of the Earth. |
Design Description | To address project's aim we used samples collected starting from 1996 until present in limno-terrestrial habitats throughout the world. More than 2,000 samples were analyzed using conventional methods (analysis of rotifer morphology using light microscopy) resulting in creation of dataset with 5,295 rotifer species occurrences, 98.5% of which belong to bdelloids. The data covers all continents, including both polar zones and ranging from 0 to 4,610 m of altitude. The further steps include estimation of the diversity patterns within defined geographical area (alpha- and gamma-diversity, rarefaction curve, asymptotic diversity estimates), and globally, i.e. revealing shape and prominence of latitudinal diversity gradient using hexagonal model and general additive model (GAM). In parallel, the diversity of limno-terrestrial rotifers will be assessed using molecular approach. It is planned to imply metabarcoding sequencing of coI mitochondrial gene for rotifers, however, not in global scale (only Europe - from Mediterranean to Arctic). Results obtained using both methodological approaches will be compared. |
Related Projects |
SNOWLIFE 'Microfauna emerging in seasonal snow patch ecosystems - losers or winners?' S-MIP-23-25 Taksonomia i ekologia wrotków (Rotifera) z rzędu pijawczaków (Bdelloidea) na terenie Polski N304 0341 33 INTAS Young Scientist Fellowship 'Order Adinetida, Bdelloidea, Rotifera. An analysis of diversity and distribution of the taxon in Central and Southern Europe'' INTAS 06-1000014-5639 |
The personnel involved in the project:
- Principal Investigator
- Originator
Sampling Methods
For the analysis of limno-terrestrial rotifers, sampling was performed mainly in forest ecosystems (taiga, boreal and mixed forests, subtropical forests, tropical rainforests), flatlands, urban areas, and agricultural landscapes. In polar areas, we conducted sampling in moss tundra, at post-glacial moraine, in Antarctic oases and nunataks. Samples of soil and litter were collected using 3.8 cm metal corer or metal scoops. Lichens, mosses, and other vegetation were picked from the ground, tree barks, and stones using tweezers or simply by hands. The size of the samples varied from a few cm3 to several dozen cm3, depending on the amount of material available for collection. All samples were placed in paper of plastic bags and properly labelled. All sampling sites were georeferenced.
Study Extent | All samples used in the dataset were collected either within the frame of several research projects focused on the biodiversity and ecology of microfauna, or as a part of other field activities. The latter included fieldwork in remote and hard-to-reach areas (tropical rainforests, polar and alpine regions), visiting notable places, incidentally in field trips, within national Antarctic expeditions, during landing at cruises of research vessels, etc. The samples have been stored in the repositories of the dataset’s main creators, Dr. Nataliia Iakovenko and Dr. Dzmitry Lukashanets. For the short-term storage we used gradual drying at room temperature, while for long-term preservation freezing at -20-25° C was used (samples from other than polar latitudes were first gradually dried at room temperature before freezing). |
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Quality Control | Two recognized specialists in taxonomy of Bdelloidea rotifers, Dr. Nataliia Iakovenko and Dr. Dzmitry Lukashanets, carried out all species identification while consulting other specialists (Dr. Diego Fontaneto, Dr. Aydin Örstan). Primarily first descriptions together with the existing identification keys and reviews on the taxonomy of bdelloids were used. Georeferenced data were checked by placing latitudes and longitudes on a map. |
Method step description:
- Microscopic animals were isolated from each sample. For this, soil particles, litter, or pieces of vegetation with a total volume of 25 cm3 (or less if the sample volume was insufficient) were washed on metal sieves, followed by flotation and centrifugation in a sugar solution (Freckman, Virginia, 1993). Alternatively, the method for extracting moss-dwelling rotifers described by Peters et al. (1993) was used.
- Rotifers were counted and sorted under a binocular microscope (Olympus SZ61, Olympus SZX10, NR.3 Nikon SMZ1000).
- For species identification, live rotifer individuals were transferred to slides and examined using light microscopy (Nikon Eclipse Ts2R, NIB-100F inverted microscope, Olympus CX43). First descriptions of taxa and the existing identification keys were used: Donner (1965), Bartoš (1951, 1959), Kutikova (2005). Body dimensions and proportions were measured following the protocol of Iakovenko et al. (2013, 2015).
- All rotifer densities are counted as individuals per standard volume of 25 cm3 (estimated empirically as the most convenient for handling both rich and individual-scarce samples). For samples with smaller or higher volumes, the obtained counts were re-calculated to the standard volume.
Bibliographic Citations
- Iakovenko NS, Smykla J, Convey P, Kašparová E, Kozeretska IA, Trokhymets V, Dykyy I, Plewka M, Devetter M, Duriš Z, Janko K (2015) Antarctic bdelloid rotifers: diversity, endemism and evolution. Hydrobiologia 761, 5-43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2463-2
- Freckman DW, Virginia RA (1993) Extraction of nematodes from Dry Valley Antarctic soils. Polar Biology 13, 483–487. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00233139
- Peters U, Koste W, Westheide W (1993) A quantitative method to extract moss-dwelling rotifers. Hydrobiologia 255, 339–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00025857
- Kutikova LA (2005) The Bdelloid rotifers of the fauna of Russia. KMK Scientific Press Ltd. Moscow. [In Russian]
- Donner J (1965) Ordnung Bdelloidea (Rotatoria, Rädertiere). Akademie Verlag. [in German]
- Bartoš E (1959) Virnici - Rotatoria. Vol. 15. Fauna CSR. Nakladatelstvi Ceskoslovenske Akademie Ved. Praha [in Czech]
- Bartoš E (1959) The Czechoslovak Rotatoria of the order Bdelloidea. Vestnik Ceskoslovenske Zoologicke Spolecnosti 15, 241–500.
- Iakovenko NS, Kašparová E, Plewka M, Janko K (2013) Otostephanos (Rotifera, Bdelloidea, Habrotrochidae) with the description of two new species. Systematics and Biodiversity 11 (4), 477-494. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2013.857737
Additional Metadata
Acknowledgements | The dataset was created under the ROTISFERA project: ‘Global patterns of microinvertebrate distribution: does diversity decrease poleward in rotifers (Rotifera: Bdelloidea)?’ NDICI-GEO-NEAR/2022/434-092-0068 (funded by EU). Sampling activities in some regions were implemented as part of the following projects: SNOWLIFE ‘Microfauna emerging in seasonal snow patch ecosystems – losers or winners?’ P-MIP-23-374 (Europe – Baltic States); ‘Taksonomia i ekologia wrotków (Rotifera) z rzędu pijawczaków (Bdelloidea) na terenie Polski’ N304 0341 33 (Europe – Poland); INTAS Young Scientist Fellowship ‘Order Adinetida, Bdelloidea, Rotifera. An analysis of diversity and distribution of the taxon in Central and Southern Europe’ 06-1000014-5639 (Central and Southern Europe); CSF 22-28778S (all regions); RVO 67985904 (all regions). Collection of data from Western Greenland and Iceland was made possible by participation in the cruise ‘Iceland and Greenland: edge of the Arctic’ on board the National Geographic Explorer vessel (organized by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic, August 2022). The authors would like to thank all other people who collected samples – Igor Balashov, Olena Bezkrovna, Jörg Bohlen, Oleg Borodin, Tatiana Chernyachovskaya, Lukáš Choleva, Maya Chumak, Zdenek Duriš, Igor Dykyy, Sevil Erdogan, Yury Giginiak, Olexiy Gumovsky, Mykhail Iakovenko, Vira Inshina, Mykola Ivanov, Jan Kavan, Šarka Kinzelová, Jan Koči, Alexei Korniushin, Anna Kravchenko, Olga Kuzmanenko, Tetyana Kuzmina, Vladislav Miamin, Krystina Muchova, Svitlana Nyporko, Aydin Örstan, Xenya Pichko, Alexei Pindrus, Vitezslav Plašek, Dmitry Polin, Olexiy Redchenko, Klara Řeháková, Ekaterina Romanenko, Jerzy Smykla, Otto Strunecky, Anna Šobanova, Marina Tarashuk, Oxana Tishchenko, Vladlen Trokhymets, Robert Vargovich, Mariusz Wierzgon, Alena Zikmundova. |
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Alternative Identifiers | 0190c60e-e4fe-444d-b0f3-3be8368c2e0a |
https://cloud.gbif.org/eca/resource?r=limno-terrestrial_rotifera |